Mr Bean's wrecked supercar sells for $15m

Mr Bean's wrecked supercar sells for $15m

11 Jun 2015Andrew Maclean

A car that was almost burnt to the ground by British comedian Rowan Atkinson has been sold at auction for $15million.

The Mr Bean and Blackadder star famously crashed his rare McLaren F1 into the back of an Austin Metro small car in 1999, and then severely damaged it again in 2011 - to the extent where its engine was flung from the car, the vehicle caught fire and he suffered a broken shoulder - when he slid off a slippery road and crashed into a tree.

The car was repaired by the iconic British sportscar maker - the road-going division of the championship-winning Formula One team - with the second accident reported to be one of the most expensive single insurance claims in Britain, at a cost of $1.7million - aproximately $500,000 more than the original price Atkinson paid for the entire car when it was new in 1997.

The burgundy red McLaren F1, which has travelled 64,000kms, was auctioned by British specialist car dealer Taylor and Crawley this week to an un-named British buyer.

The F1 was the first road vehicle to be developed by McLaren and held the record as the world's fastest supercar for almost a decade before the arrival of the 430km/h Bugatti Veyron. It featured a radical central driving position, was powered by a 460kW BMW-sourced V12 engine and capable of reaching 391km/h. Just 106 versions of the carbon fibre, mid-engined supercar were produced between 1992 and 1998.

The previous record for a McLaren F1 sold at auction was $10.9million for a 1995-built model - the only F1 to be painted in Marlboro white - with less than 2000kms on the clock.